The Salt Lake City marathn

[AdminAssistant]

Okay, so that was a bit strong (I did a bit too much drinking last night). But, again at the risk of being anecdotal, the professor I used to TA for ran marathons and it. was. all. he. talked. about. Usually as we were walking to class (we all had to walk over together, for some reason). Luckily for me, I guess, I would only have to hear half of it as they left me behind. Except for the two weeks after one of his marathons, when we would have to practically carry him down the steps.

But yeah, shutting down half the city for your hobby is a bit extreme, don't you think?

ETA: This is the route for today's event: http://www.mapmyrun.com/routes/view/76347192 Starts downtown (where most of the local churches are, and it's Sunday morning). Goes through campus, and down the two of the main city streets, before turning around and going right back through it.

[Peppergirl]

Okay, so that was a bit strong (I did a bit too much drinking last night)

Makes much more sense now. I knew that didn't sound like a sober AA.

[Andara Bledin]

But, again at the risk of being anecdotal, the professor I used to TA for ran marathons and it. was. all. he. talked. about.

First off, that's not a marathoner thing, that's a fan thing. Some people just don't get that people outside their fandom just don't care and no matter how enthusiastic they are, they just won't start caring. I've got plenty of friends like that, and not a one of them is a runner.

But yeah, shutting down half the city for your hobby is a bit extreme, don't you think?

You say this as if the runners have anything to do with the time and route of the race. It's the organizers who try for the time and place and maybe the route, and then it's the city that decides what is and isn't ok; Again, if you're going to be mad about shit being difficult to reach or traffic being a mess, complain to the people who gave the ok on it, not the participants.

Shit, all this runner hate based on marathon routes/times is like shooting the messenger - it totally misses the mark.

^-.-^

[Greenday]

I always hate the races they had in my university's town. They make sure to use up every single major road so that if you have to drive somewhere, you basically can't do it. Then you aren't allowed to park your car on those streets, basically taking away a ton of parking.

They have 5Ks a lot in my hometown, but when they happen I never see them so it doesn't bother me.

[smileyeagle1021]

I'm confused. I fully agree with everything you've said about the poor planning of the event and the clusterfuck it caused, but how are the runners selfish for simply participating?

I actually talked to my cousin who is a runner, and she said that while as a generalization that isn't fair, she would agree that any runner that participates in a marathon that is poorly planned out are selfish for putting their desire to run above the good sense to only participate in responsibly planned events.

As far as just how poorly planned it is, there are three routes across the city, as follows
Full Marathon
Half Marathon
5K run

Things to note, 700 East is the second busiest north/south non-freeway street in the valley (with the first being Bangerter, which wasn't affected, and third being state, which oh look...)
This event took place Saturday morning, and the intersection of 1300 East and 2100 South is one of the busiest shopping districts in the city, the same can be said about Foothill and 1300 South, South Temple and State street is the location of the largest shopping center in the state.
Not shown on that map is that between mile markers 14 and 18 on the full marathon is the Van Winkle Expressway, very major road, and the only east/west route that wasn't closed was interstate 80... and that was if you could get there because so many north south routes were closed too.
And of course, this was on a Saturday, which is the busiest shopping day in the city.

My mom pointed out that it was somewhat hypocritical that I support the pride festival while condemning the marathon. Umm... not in the least, the pride festival blocks 7 blocks (6 for the parade, and one for the festival grounds... and the block that is closed for the festival grounds has only one business access on it, and that is the after hours book drop for the library). The six block parade route is in the downtown office district, on Sunday when all the offices are closed. That in no way compares to shutting down an entire quarter of the city, including some of the busiest shopping districts, on the busiest shopping day of the week.

ETA- also, for those familiar with the Wasatch Front, they'd realize how pointless the routing is... we have just north of town a redundant freeway, it's only purpose is to act as an overflow route during rush hour for the 15 freeway. They could close down the entire length of that freeway on Saturday and inconvenience a grand total of zero people (the travel time for taking 15 versus Legacy on a Saturday are identical)

[Peppergirl]

Ok - but do you think the runners knowingly realize this? I know nothing about marathons, so I don't know - are they expected to check the route to make sure it doesn't inconvenience anyone before agreeing to participate? What about out of town runners? How would they know?

I am genuinely curious about this, not at all being a smart ass, just FYI.

[Andara Bledin]

I actually talked to my cousin who is a runner, and she said that while as a generalization that isn't fair, she would agree that any runner that participates in a marathon that is poorly planned out are selfish for putting their desire to run above the good sense to only participate in responsibly planned events.

I'm willing to bet that the vast majority, if not nearly all, of the runners have no clue at all whether the run is planned well or not. They just know the relevant dates and where to start. It's not like they're sight-seeing or planning to do shopping while they run; I'd be surprised if any of them did any real research beyond the type of surface and terrain they'd be running over.

Of course, not being interested in running and not knowing any serious runners, I could be wrong. But based on what I know about people in general, I'd be surprised.

^-.-^

[protege]

Ok - but do you think the runners knowingly realize this? I know nothing about marathons, so I don't know - are they expected to check the route to make sure it doesn't inconvenience anyone before agreeing to participate? What about out of town runners? How would they know?

Yep, how would someone from out of town know? Plus, even if they knew...why would (or should) they care? Keep in mind that I live in a town that's a *pain* to get around in some areas, and more so when there's an event. That's why our marathons and parades are usually held on weekends. Less traffic to deal with downtown. If I'm participating in an event, and someone gets "inconvenienced" by a few detours, I don't care. It's not my problem, in other words.

I'm sure that people bitch and moan about the summer vintage car race/show here in July, but oh well. That event brings in a *ton* of tourists not to mention it's a *free* event, and quite a bit of the entry fees (not to mention sponsorship money) go to various charities. For the most part, the race and shows are held in the park. Most of the racing is on park roads...with the exception of a fast stretch down the Blvd of the Allies, and across Panther Hollow Bridge. The Bridge is closed to traffic, and the Blvd is only down to one lane in each way. Busy, and involves a cop directing traffic at Beacon St. but doable. Also doable, is getting around the entire area via side streets.

I know that if someone came up to me at said event...and started screaming that he/she hated me for participating, I'd tell them to go fuck themselves.

[linguist]

also, usually the participants register and pay their fees weeks if not months before the route is finalized and announced. i ran in a 10k here not long ago. i registered back in january, and the route was not announced until about two weeks prior to the race, in march.

[smileyeagle1021]

So Protege, a 13 mile detour is a "few detours"...
I guess I'm going to go fuck myself because that is pretty fucked up thinking that 13 mile detour to go home from a graveyard shift is a minor inconvenience. Guess nearly 100k people who effectively were unable to travel for half a day should go fuck themselves too. Marathons aren't a downtown event, they are a close down the whole fucking valley event, and by your standards, those who don't think a 13 mile detour at the shorter end are just selfish and rude.
They could have held the marathon on Sunday when most shopping was closed throughout the valley, but then the runners would have to run on Sunday instead. A 13 mile detour is a lot more reasonable when you aren't competing with a quarter of city to follow the same two routes that aren't closed. But I guess not missing church is more important than being considerate to the city at large.

[KellyHabersham]

We have a yearly marathon event in my city which is a bit like this - my area is right in the middle of both races, so we're kind of "blocked off"........among other things, I remember the library had to open later one year because staff weren't able to get to work, and this year, the church had services on Saturday because people couldn't make it on Sunday.

[protege]

So Protege, a 13 mile detour is a "few detours"...

Smiley, I live in Pennsylvania. We're constantly dealing with detours. Here, 13 miles is nothing..especially in and around Pittsburgh. You can't get across the rivers in some places when bridges are being worked on. Sometimes, getting across involves making a huge circle. You have to head either up or down the river to the next bridge, cross, and then drive *back* to where you wanted to be in the first place. It's even *more* fun, when the various boroughs decide to tear up the detour routes as well. Ever try to get somewhere when every major road in a 5-mile radius is torn up? I had to deal with that for just under 2 years--much more of an inconvenience than a marathon over a weekend.

[eltf177]

I live in a smallish town of 10,000 or so. And the Mayor and Town Council turn over the streets to any person or group that wants to use them. Little if any notice and to hell with the citizens!